s 

533 





4#^ 



^'^ 



INTRODUCTION OF ELEMENTARY 
AGRICULTURE INTO SCHOOLS. 



By 



A. C. TRUE, 

Director of the (Mice of I'liprrhmut Sidtioxs. 



[Repkint from Yp:akb<1(»k of Depakt.ment ok Aoiucultfre for ]itO(i.] 



4550—07 



-VASMINGTON . GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE . 190' 



?3" 



'^X%^ 



C^^ ,ti> 



CONTENTS. 



Interest among fanners' organizatiuns 152 

Attitude of seliool officers and teachers 152 

Progress in legislation 1 55 

Forunilation i if courses 157 

rre[)aration of text-book.s and manuals 15S 

Provision for training teachers 15i» 

( )rganizati()u of agricultural schools ItiO 

Number of jmpils studying agriculture 161 

How farmers may lielj) the schools 162 

II 






3 

^ INTRODl ( TION OF ELE3IEM ARY AGRK I LITRE INTO 
;^ SCHOOLS. 

^ l'.y A. r. Trie. 

Director of the Ojjicr of E.rprriiiunt Stafinv.-^. 

The teachiiiji; of iini)r()ve(l inotliods of ag-riciiltiire to the masses of 
our agricultural youth has recently l)eeu advocated hy the President 
of the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture, a foj-iufT T'liited 
States Commissioner of Labor Vvlio is now the )n-esident of a Alassa- 
chusetts college, the pi-esident of one of our greatest railroads, the 
president of the University of Vu'ginia, the superintendent of schools 
of New York City, acting as i)resident of the National Educational 
Association, and by such bodies as the National Educational Associa- 
tion, the National Grange, and the National Irrigation Congress. 
This may fahdy l>e taken as a sure indication that the discussion of this 
subject has become ver}^ widespread, and that ])ublic opinion is becom- 
ing crystallized in favor of using the schools for the dissemination of 
agricultural knowletlge. After a long period of comparative neglect 
of agricultm-al interests by the leaders of thought and action in this 
country, a great awakening to the tremendous issues which are 
involved in the permanent ]5rosperity of our agriculture and in the 
maintenance of a high level of intelligence among oiu- agricultural 
peo])le has come, and happily the minds of our most influential men 
are turning more and more to the public schools as the fittest and best 
centers from which to spread a knowledge of the princi]:)les of agricul- 
ture and in which to inculcate a love of country life and an apprecia- 
tion of the dignity of agricultural pursuits. Sentiments favorable to 
agi-iculture are no longer expressed by our public men siuiply as a 
compliment to our farmers. It is rathc^r a new and serious sense of 
the real importance of the farmer to the commonwealth, and a fear of 
the perils into which the crowding of our population in great cities and 
the neglect to maintain the fertility of our soil are sure to bring us, 
that are leading thoughtful men of all classes to pa^^ earnest attention 
to the educational needs of our rural jiopulation. This means a great 
step in advance on this subject. It is now possible to secure a fair 
hearing of the claims of agricidture to a place in our public schools and 
a thorough testing of j)lans for the teaching of this subject in a wide 
and eflective way. It becomes importtmt, therefore, in look more 
closely at the methods which are being pursued to acquaint our 

151 



152 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

farmers, educators, and legislators with the needs of the rural schools 
in different parts of our country and to make definite suggestions for 
their imjn'ovement. 

Under the authority of Congress and the Secretary of Agriculture 
the Office of Experiment Stations has been collating information from 
yarious sources regarding the progress of this movement, and the 
present sunmiary is presented to sho\v in brief the residts of this 
invest igat ion. 

INTEREST AMONG FARMERS* ()R(iANIZATIONS. 

()m- inv(\stigation shows that in the farmers' organizations through- 
out tlu> country, \yhich as a rule comj)rise our more intelligent and 
progressive fai'mers, the intro(hiction of agricultural instruction into 
the sciiools is being actively discussed and warndy a|)])roved. Local 
organizations are j)assing this question up to the State organizations, 
and tiiese in tui'u are sending it on to the National organizations. 
('omniilt(>es on legislation are being apj)oint(Ml, and there are many 
evidences of an earnest and jxn'sistcnt etfort to secure definite results. 

Not content to wait for the fornndation of definite courses of 
instruction in agi'iculture for the rural schools and the training of 
teachers in this subject, there is in many places an eifoi't to do some- 
thing tangible to arouse the int(M-est of farmers' lioys in the study of 
agriculture. Through the agency of farniei's' organizations cooperat- 
ing with the State agricultm-al colleges and StaK^md county depaii- 
ments of education, boys' agricult ui'al clul)s have been oi-ganized, 
lai'geh' in coimection with the schools, in (Jeoi-gia, Illinois. India.iia, 
Iowa, KansiiS, Nebraska, Ohio, Te.xas, and pi'obably other States. 
The members of these clui)s iuive regular mstitut(> nu>e(ings and 
lecture c()urs;>s, go on e.xcui'sions to educational institutions and Large 
farms, conduct variety tests with corn, cotton, sugar beets, and other 
cro))s, and (>xhil)it their i)roducts at .school, county, and State fairs. 

The agi'icultural j)ress is de\'oling a lai'ger space th.an ever belore to 
the di-scussion of educational to])ics, and whercA'er an ;vttenij)i is made 
to establish ilu* teatdung of agriculture in the schools it is wid(>iy ;ind 
fully advert is(Hl. Entire nund)ers of some papers are given u\) to the 
])resentation of vai'ious jduisc's of agricultural education. 

AI"HTri)K OF S( HOOL OFITCERS AND TEACHERS. 

A remarkable change has taken plac(^ in th(> attitude^ of school offi- 
cers and teacdiers regarding nature study and elementary agricultm-e 
as school sul)jects. A few years ago it was unusual to find any sub- 
ject relating to agriculture in pul)lic schools in the progrannnes of 
teach.ei's' meetings. Now .scarcely an educational meeting of impor- 
tance is held anywhere in the United States without at least one paper 



ELEMENTARY AGRTC'ULTURE TN SC'HOOEW. l^)?^ 

on somo ]iha8(' of this suliject, and in many cases whole s(>ssions are 
(l(>V()te(l to ih'/' chscussion of various t()]>ies i-ehiiinjj; to it, from nature 
study and scliool <i':!rd('nin;j; to IIk^ more formal courses in ;!!.':ricu!turo. 
A few exanii>l.\s will serve to show how wides])read is tliis interest. 

At tlie sixty-seventh annual convention of (he American Institute 
of Instruction at New Haven, Conn., in duly, 1906, wlu(di is largely 
attended ])y school odicers and teachers from ditferent jiarts of New 
Eno-land, the teaching of elementary agriculture was largely discussed 
in the department of rural education, formal ])apers on this suhject 
being presented by the superintendent of education of Vermont and 
the ])rol"essor of agricidtm-e of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. 

New England has also been aroused to a serious and tlu)rough (hs- 
cussion of this matter by the report of a commission on industrial and 
tecduiical education ])resented to the legislatm-e of Massachusetts in 
April, 1 !){)(>. The chairman of this connnission was Hon. (^arroll ]). 
Wright, lor many years United States (/'onnnissioner of l^abor and 
now j^resident of Cdark l^niversity at Worcester, Mass. This com- 
mission was ap])ointed by the governor of Massachusetts in accord- 
ance with an act of the legislatuic, and sj)ent nearly a year in a study 
of the relation of children to oiu" industries and the condition of inchis- 
trial education at home and a])roacl. The commission found that 
"there is a wides])read interest in the general subject of industrial 
education, or special training for vocations," Init that our ))eo|)le gen- 
erally, and even those who are most interested in the sid)ject, have no 
definite iileas as to its ])ro])er sco])e or method. "Compared with the 
o])j)ortunities afforded in Europe for acquiring knowledge and skill in 
productive industry, the work now being done in Massachusetts is 
strikingly and ]>ainfully inadequate," and while in this country "the 
general ]nd)]ic has been strangely blind to the narrovniess of the ])ublic 
scliool education," in Europe there is " the universal recognition of the 
necessity of s]:)ecial eilucation for every form of industrial life.'' 
Among their conclusions were the following: 

The State needs a wider diffusion of industrial intelligence as a foundation for the 
highest teclmical success, and this can only he acquired in connect idii willi the general 
system of e(hication into which it sliould cTitcr as an integral part, from the beginning. 
The latest piiilosophy of education reenforces the demands of productive industry by 
showing that that which tits a child best for his i)lace in the world as a j)ro<lucer tends to 
his own highest development physically, intidlectually, and morally. 

There seem to be two lines in which industrial education may l>e developed — (1) 
through thecxisting public school system, and (2) through independent industrial 
schools. In regard to the former the eonmiission recommends llutt <Mties an<l towns 
so modify the work in the elementary schools as to include for boys and girls instruc- 
tion and ]n'actice in the elenn-nts of pro(luctive in<lustry, including agriculture and 
the mi'chanic and domestic arts, and that this instruction l)e of sudi a character as to 
seciu'c from it the highest cidtural as well as tlu' highesi in<hislri;d \ alue; and that the 
work in the high schools be modified so that the instruction in mathematics, the sci- 
ences, and drawing shall show the application and use of these subjects in industrial 



154 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

life, with special reference to local industries, so that the students may see that these 
subjects are not designed primarily and solely for academic purposes, but that they 
may be utilized for the purposes of ]n-actical life — that is, algebra and geometry should 
be so tauglit in ilic public schools as to show their relations to construction; botany to 
horticulture and agriculture; chemistry to agriculture, manufactures, and domestic 
sciences, and drawing to every form of industry. 

The commission would also recommend tliat all towns and cities provide, by new 
elective industrial courses in high schools, instruction in the principles of agricultiu-(> 
an<l tlic (loiiu\-tic and mechauii' arts. 

This coinmi.s.sioii has beon contirmod, and Prof. Paul Hanus, profes- 
sor of the history and art of l(>aeliino: in Harvard University, has been 
appointed cliairnian. Professor lianns is thoroughly alive to the 
need of industrial education, believino; that "the education demanded 
by democratic society in modern times nuist be a preparation for 
active life," and that '"tlu' only real preparation for life's duties, 
opportunities, and privileges is })articipation in them, so far as they 
can be rendered intelligible-, interesting, and accessible to children 
and youth of school age." This being so. he favors "liberal provision 
for elementary training in agricultui-e, industrial and conunercial 
pursuits, in addition to g( Ui^al manual training, at the u})per end of 
the granunar school and also at the upper end of tlu' high school." 

In New York, at the animal meeting of the State Association of 
vSchool Commissioners and Superintendents, held at Cornell Univer- 
sity, in October, !!)()(), the best means of adapting rtn'al schools to 
th(Mr environment was discussed, and it was gcMun-ally agreed that 
agricultin-e should Ix^ taught as a ])art of tho general scheme of peda- 
gogy, of which it should be the basic factor. 

In Indiana the coimty superintendents in twelve counties have 
organized clubs for the study of ci'oi)s, and the Association of County 
Suj)erintendents has asked l'ui'(hie rniversit\' to organize a training 
school for teachers in agriculture and nature study. 

Tlie State TeacluM's' Association of Michigan at its meeting in 1905 
a(lo|)ted resolutions favoring the tc^acliing of agrictdtu''e in the public 
schools. 

In Missouri the State superintendent made the following statement 
in his I'epoi't for HK)4: 

Fifteen years ago 1 urged at county teachers' associations and granges that the ele- 
ments of agriculture l)e tauglit in public schools. Since then sentiment has grown 
until there is a great demand for it. For live yi'ars the law has recognized it by makiiig 
it one of a grou]) of subji>cts from which applicants must select to be examined for first- 
grade certificate or State certificate. Four years ago State normal schools established 
departments of agriculture and nature study. There are now many t(>achers in the 
State prejiared to teach elementary agricullui'e. 

In 1 ()()") tlie Missouri State Teachers' A.ssociation asked that agri- 
cult lu'c be made a requirement for any grade of teachers' certificate. 

In California, at a joint meeting of the State Teachers' Association 
and the State Farmers' Institute, held at the I^niversity of California 



ET.EMENTARY AGRICULTURE IN SCHOOLS. 155 

in December, l',)05, and attended by some 7,000 persons, the subject 
of acrricultural education was discussed from various ponits of view, 
and Is a result of this meeting a committee was organized to promote 
the interests of such education in the pubhc schools of the State. 

At a conference for education in the South, held at Lexington Ky. 
in May 1906, and attended by leading educators from a number ot 
States, 'much attention was given to the claims of agriculture to a ■ 
place in the school curriculum. ... , 

At the meeting of the Virginia State Teachers' .^sociation and 
affiliated organizations in November, 1906, the teachmg of agricul- 
ture in the public schools was widely and thoroughly discussed and 
President Alderman, of the ITniversity of Virginia, m the closing 
address of that great meeting, declared that among the things which 
should be considered as settled in the campaign for a l)etter school 
system now being actively carried on in that State was that agricul- 
ture in some form should be generally taught in the schools. 

At the annual convention of the National Educational Association 
held at Asbury Park, N. J., in July, 1905, elementary agricultural 
instruction was a prominent subject of discussion, and such instruc- 
tion was favored in the annual address of the president, Dr. A\ illiani H. 
Maxwell, superintendent of schools of New York City, delivered to 
thousands of teachers at th.> opening session. The committee on 
mdustrial education in schools for rural communities, appomted two 
years before, brought in an elaborate report, in which it mauitamed 
- that the rural schools, which train nearly one-half of the school popu- 
lation of this country, should recognize the fact that the major portion 
of their pupils will continue to live upon the farm, and should pro- 
vide specific, definite technical training for them for the activities ot 
farm life It adduced strong arguments in support of this position 
and emphasized the educational value as well as the practical utility 
of courses of study framed with this end in view. The committee 
favored the consolidation of rural schools in order that teachers 
specially fitted for this work might be secured and the mstrm-tion 
made more efficient. It also advocated the cstal^lishnKnit of high 
schools to meet: the special needs of the rural population for secondary 
education directly related to agricultural practice." 

PROGRESS IN LEGISLATION. 

Steady progress is being made in securing legislation favorable to 
the teaching of agriculture in public schools. The laws of over 30 
States now permit or require such instruction. Among the States 
which require the teaching of agriculture in all elementary schools 
are Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsm. Legisla- 
tion on this subject is commonly accompanied with provisions makmg 



156 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

agriculture one of the subjects on which teachers may or must be 
examined. In Nebraska, for ( xaniple, candidates for fu-st and second 
grade county certificates must pass an examination in the elements 
of agriculture. In Wisconsin, since 1001, teachers have been required 
to pass an examination in elementary agriculture in order to secure 
any grade of teachers' certificate. In New Hampshire teachers in 
secondary schools are required to have training in agriculture. In 
Virginia teachers securing first-grade certificates must pass an exami- 
nation on eitht>r jjhysical geography, elementary physics, or elemen- 
tary agriculture. In Alabama, Georgia, ^lississippi, Missouri, North 
Carolina, and South Dakota all teachers must pass examination on 
this subject. In New York the new syllabus for elementary schools 
contains nature study and agricultiu'e, and teachers in training 
classes are recpiired to cover all su])jects in the syllabus. In Ohio the 
Teachers' Reading Circle requires the study of one text-book on ele- 
mentary agricidture each year. The laws are also beginning to rec- 
ognize the fact that definite provision should ])e made for the training 
of teachers along agricultural lines. Thus a recent act in Michigan, 
which enables counties to maintain normal training classes with State 
aid, requires the teaching of agriculture to such classes. In ]\Iassa- 
chusetts the legislature appropriated $5,000 for normal work at the 
State Agricultural College as one result of the rej)ort of the conuuission 
on industrial education above referred to. 

It is also bemg seen that the high schools are very largely the insti- 
tutions in which the teachers of the rural schools receive tlieir most 
advanced training, and this fact is now making it easier to secure 
legislation for high-school instruction in agriculture. Already under 
State laws there are agricultural high schools in Alabama, (California, 
Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In 1905 the Minnesota legislature passed 
an act providing for local option in the estal)lishment and mainte- 
nance of county schools of agriculture and domestic economy, limituig 
to $20,000 the amount which any county may appropriate for this 
purpose in one year. Two or more countless may unite to establish 
such a school. Each school must have coimected with it a tract of 
land suitable for experiments and demonstrations of not less than 
10 acres. 

At the session of ]i)06 the Georgia legislature ])assed an act estab- 
lishing 11 agricultural high schools, as branches of the State College 
of Agriculture. These schools will each receive from the State about 
$6,000 a year, derived fi-om the inspection fees collected by the wState 
department of agriculture, but each conununity in which such a 
school is located must furnish not less than 200 acres of land and the 
necessary equipment. The people are res])onding enthusiastically to 
this requirement, and about $800,000 in land and money has been 
offered for the equipment of these schools. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE IN SCHOOLS. 157 

In New Hampshire, beginning with 1906, high schools and acade- 
mies maj" be approved by the State superintendent of education if 
they are prepared to teach agriculture. 

Recent legislation in Virginia provides for the establishment of 
public high schools under the authority of the State superintendent 
of education. Arrangements are being made to open about 150 such 
schools, and it is intended to make instruction in agricidture a feature 
of the course in such of these schools as are located in the rural 
districts. 

FORIVTULATION OF COURSES. 

One of tlie objections often made to the introduction of agricidture 
into our schools is that the teachers do not know what should be 
taught under this head. This may have l)een a valid excuse in the 
past, ])ut to-day is no longer so. While there is still much differ- 
ence of opinit)n as to details, the general scheme of instruction has 
been pretty well worked out. For example, the Office of Experiment 
Stations has published an outline plan of a course in nature study 
and elementary agriculture for rural schools. This was prepared by 
a committee of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and 
Experiment Stations, and therefore represents broadly the views of 
educators in different parts of the country on this subject. In tliis 
publication," which may be obtained on application to this Depart- 
ment, it is suggested that during the first six 3"ears of the child's 
attendance at school he should be led to make observations of the 
plants and animals on the farm and in the fields and woods, together 
with simple studies of soils, weather conditions, and other natural 
objects and phenomena. A more formal study of climate, soils, fer- 
tilizers, farm cro])s, fruits, domestic animals, dairying, farm build- 
ings and machinery, marketing, and farm accounts is outlined for 
the seventh and eighth school years. The committee has followed 
this with a series of simple exercises and demonstrations on some of 
the elementary princi})les of agriculture. These have recently been 
published as a circular of the Office of Experiment vStaiioiis. 

In Missouri a course in agriculture for the public schools was pre- 
pared several years ago by the State superintendent of schools. This 
has since been superseded by a more nearly complete ])resentat ion of 
this subject in a bulletin prepared by the State superintendent and 
published by the State board of agriculture. This bulletin advocates 
presenting the subject of agriculture "(1) by experiments at home 
and in the field, (2) by studying facts as given in texts and bulletins, 
and (3) l)y school gardens connected with school grounds." Nu- 
merous experiments and observations are suggested throughout the 
bulletin. 



a Office of Expcriiiiciit Stations Circular GO, The Teaching of Agriculture in the 
Rural Coninidii Schools. 



158 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

In Illinois a somewhat detailed course has been prepared by the 
dean of the College of Agriculture. This course is arranged by 
months, and gives suggestions for a large number of experiments and 
observations bearing on all the divisions of agriculture. Consider- 
able reading along agricidtural lines is suggested, as well as drawing, 
composition, and other work intended to correlate agriculture with 
other school work. This Illinois course has not only been used in 
that State, but has also been adopted by several other States and 
published in the reports of their State superintendents of education. 

In Minnesota a bulletin prepared by Prof. W. M. Hays, then pro- 
fessor of agricultiu-e of the College of Agriculture and now Assistant 
Secretary of Agriculture, has been widely used in the schools of that 
and other States. This bulletin contains a large number of practical 
and illustrative exercises for use in comiection with elementary 
instruction in agriculture. 

In Wisconshi the State superuitendent of public instruction, in 
1!)0G, prepared an outline for instruction in the elements of agricul- 
ture for the us(> of teachers in (•omnion schools. In this outline it is 
recommended that agriculture be taught in the last half of the eighth 
year, and that nature study be given hi all grades tlu'ough general 
exercises and in connect ion with language exercises, geography, reading, 
and liistory. The outline is divided hito three parts, (1) agriculture, 
including the soil, water and the soil, tilling the soil, soil enrich- 
ment, the plant, the leguminous plants, plant enemies, rotation of 
cr()])s, selection of seed, the farm garden, weeds, and home and school 
gardens; (2) farm nnimals, including care and feeding, t>pe forms, 
and I arm economics, and {'A) farm poultry. 

Outlines of courses, sam])le lessons, and other helps for teachers have 
also been published by the State dej)artments of education ui Georgia, 
Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, New 
Hampshire, New York, and ])r()bably in other States. 

The New York State department of education has published a sylla- 
l)us of a course in agriculture for high schools, and this will be followed 
by a detailed series of lessons and laboratory and field exercises. 

PREPARATION OF TEXT-BOOKS AND MANUALS. 

The demand for text-books, manuals, and reference books on agri- 
culture adapted to school use is steadily growmg. The agricultural 
experts connected with our agricultural colleges and experiment sta- 
tions are thus encoui-aged to prepare such books, and publishers are 
now act ive in seeking for l)ooks of this character. The number of bul- 
letins useful to teachers and students which are issued by the United 
States Department of Agriculture and the State experiment stations 
has o-reatly increased in recent years, and the demand for these from 
educational institutions is now large. Among elementary text-books 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE IN SCHOOLS. 159 

which are already used more or less extensively in schools are Biirkett, 
Stevens and Hill's Agriculture for Beginners; GofT and Ma>iie's First 
Principles of Agriculture; Bailey's Principles of Agriculture; Good- 
rich's First Book of Farming; Brooks's Agriculture; Jackson and 
Daugherty's Agriculture through the Laboratory and School Garden; 
Shepperd and McDowell's Elements of Agriculture (prepared espe- 
cially for North Dakota schools), and Hatch and Haselwood's Ele- 
mentary Agriculture with Practical ^ii'ithmetic. The last mentioned 
is an interesting attempt to correlate instruction in agriculture with 
that hi arithmetic by connecting with the several lessons in agriculture 
a number of practical arithmetical problems directly relating to the 
farm. For the high-school library and the teachers' use we have such 
advanced manuals as Hunt's Cereals in America; Smith's Profitable 
Stock Feeding; Henry's Feeds and Feeding; Jordan's Feeding of 
Animals; King's Soil, Irrigation and Drainage, and Physics of Agricul- 
ture ; Decker's Dairying; Snyder's Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life ; 
Mead's Irrigation Institutions; Taylor's Agricultural Economics, 
and others. For general reference books we have the new Interna- 
tional Encyclopedia; Bailey's Encyclopedia of Horticulture; Wilcox 
and Smith's Encyclopedia for Farmers; Bailey's Garden Craft and 
Rural Science Series; the Yearbooks of the ITnited States Department 
of Agriculture, and others of similar character. The bulletins and 
books wliicli the schools can easily secure contahi many descriptions 
and illustrat ions of simple and inexpensive apparatus and other facili- 
ties which may be purchased or made by the teacher. There is no 
excuse for keeping agriculture out of the schools to-day because of a 
lack of suitalile books or other aids to such instruction. Suggestions 
for the adaptation of country schoolhouses to this new work are now 
bemg made. At Cornell University a model schoolhouse is being 
erected, which, in addition to the usual recitation room, will have a 
large hihoratory for nature study and elementary agriculture. 

PROVISION FOR TRAINING TEACHERS. 

Realizing that a vital pomt in the effective teaching of agriculture 
in our public schools is the training of teachers in this swbject, the 
friends of this movement are now making active efforts to establisli 
agricultural courses for teachers in our colleges and normal scliools. 
The agricultural colleges in a number of States have given instruction 
to considerable numbers of teachers at summer schools. They ave now 
beginning to establish regidar normal courses, provision for such work 
having recently been made at the colleges in Illinois, Mississippi, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, ]\Iissouri, and New York. The colleges in 
Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, New York, Mississippi, and Rhode Island also have 
so-called extension departments which are seeking to come into close 



160 YEATtBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

touch with teachers as well as with country boys and girls, and thus 
promote the wider difi'usion of agricidtural education. These colleges 
are also using ilieir iiifluence to turn students in their regular courses 
to the career of teacliing. Tiie agricultural liigJi scjkjoIs, whether 
attached to the agricultural colleges or independent of them, are also 
training teachers. Some of the normal schools in Alabama, Georgia, 
Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, California, Louisiana, Maine, ]\hissachusetts, 
Michigan, MissoiuM, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, 
Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin 
are givhig regular histruction in nature study and elementary 
agrictdture. 

ORGANIZATION OF AGKICULTITRAL SCHOOLS. 

Meanwhile the esiahlisliiiient of courses in agricidture in secondary 
and ])rimary schools is going on in diU'ereni ])arts of the country. The 
agi-iculiural high schools organized in conneci ion with the agricultural 
colleges in Mimiesota, Ne1)raska, Oklahoma, Kliode Island, and Wash- 
ington report an increased munber of st udeiils, aiul are better equipped 
than ever before. The National Farm School at Doylestown, Pa., has 
been recognized by I he Slaie legislature, which granted ii an appro- 
])rialion of $12,000, to be used for agricultural instruction. This 
school now receives more a|)j)licants for admission than it can acconi- 
modat(>, and is obliged lo kecj) a wailing list. In Wisconsin the Dunn 
(\)unty School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy at Menominee 
has graduated three classes 21 i)oys and girls in 11)04, 19 in IDOo, and 
l(i ill 1 !)()(■». The Oalifornia I'olylechnic School, at San Luis Obispo, has 
become (irmly established and has a good ecpiipment and a consider- 
able mimber of agricultural students. The nine district agricultiu-al 
schools in Alabama are steadily growing in j)oj)ularity, and the efli- 
ciency of their agricultural work has been nmch increased. The agi'i- 
cultural course at the Mount llermon School, in Massachusetts, is being- 
well maintained. In Missouri agriculiur<> is being taughi in 200 high 
schools, in Ohio in lU), and in one or more schools in Alabama, New 
Iianij)shire, Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, Kansas, Nebra.ska, 
Louisiana, Indiana, ]\bune. Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, 
South (^u'olina, Tcumessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and 
AVisconsin. 

Agricultural high schools have receiu ly been organized at Crookston, 
Minn., and Calvert, Md. At the latter a graduate of the Iowa Agri- 
cultural College has been elected principal, and a course of study 
closely following the course recommended by the conunittee on 
instruction in agriculture of the As.sociation of American Agricul- 
tural Colleges and I^xperiment Stations" has been adoj^ted, and the 



' aOllice of Experiment Stations Circular GO. 



ELEMKN I.VKV AOEICULTUBE IN SCHOOLS. 161 

asricuUural w..rk is avousir,;,' uiuch interest not only among the pnpils 
but , o Imon- the farn.eis of tlie county. The prmoipal ytsits other 
' oot in 1« Vicinh. for .he purpose of getting thetr teachers a,>d 
ptmt in erested in agrtc.tltnral snhjeets. The Softool ts strtetly n,ra , 

. although it has iH-ett run.ttng only shtce the 1st of Noventber 1 9t 
th r s ttn mrollnteni of 47, the school bttihhng ts crowded, atrd alr«^ 
t ire is talk of a new buildhtg ne.Kt year. Georgta ts organt.t-.g ele^ > 
s eh schools The agricttltural courses ni schools for negroes v. ,llamp- 

on V. UKl Tttsk^gee, Ala., are tnait.taitted very effictently and 
efforts are beittg tnade to strengthen the agricttltttral c.ntrses of sec- 

oX'^radc itt a nu,nf,er of the lattd-grant colleges for negroes ttt 

other Southern States. . . i + ;,-, 

n Ohio it is reported that elententary agrtcttlturo ,s taught, tn 
.u> ox , nately .500 township schools; i.t Missouri tn 3,000 schools; tn 
N Xl akot. it, 300 schools; and this sttbject is regttlarly taught tu a 
«:;siderable ttuntber of schools itt Ala batna Georgta. "^"■-: ™'^; ■ 
Indian Territorv, Iowa, Louisiana, Maute, Nebraska, New H.. mp.slute. 
New York, Penttsyl.ania, South Carohna, South Dakota, Vtrgmta, 
Wisconsin, atid Washitigtoii. 

NUMBER OF PVPILS STUDYINC. .iOtilCULTUtlE. 

Reliable statistics of the number of pupils studying agricultttre in 
ottr p bhc schools are not available, but from the .-P-l>,'«-» ^ 
r "eived at the Office of Experiment Stations tt -- -' ' *7. 
are mitnbered by thottsands. Frotn the report of the St, t', st^tpe. 
fnteXt of education ,.f Missottri for 190.5 we have gathered the 
f" lowi g interesting statistics; The tottd number o schools dot. g 

gh-school work ,n Aat State is .55.5 with 1,428 t-che.--d i^.>. 4 
students The total nutnber of stitdents tn agricu tttre ts 1 SO. in 
Le sdlnces, which are tnorc or less related ^^ ^^'^^'^ ^:^. 
bers are as follows; Botany, 2,742; zoology, 1,00.5 <'''™'^' > ' l'/' 7 

physics, 3,386; physical g<-«g>-Pl'>^,^2\5 ^ ''"T ooo' , ' t.tanua 
s taken by 14,117 students, but Greek by only 200^ In t u 
t,-,inin<r there are 2,.5S2 students, tti bookkeeptng 1,.5.,4, and tti 
t o"^, hv 436 As some indication of the number of farttters 
clJld.;. it." these high schools it may be stated that ther,. ttr,. 4,t.<^^^ 
cmtaien in 1 „ schools come very largely 

notn-cstdent puptis. fiom ituse ni,^.i t .,,„i i non 

the teachers required by the elementary country schools, t.ti 1 ...000 
new tracto-s ttre needed for these schools in Mtssourt fad, year. 
Ttese stti ics show several things; (1) That a good begtttntttg 
has lee, tnade in teaching agricttlture in the Mtssottrt htgh school . 
■ ! here is so much eletnentary science taught tt, these sc too 

d, >,ere should be little difficulty in laying a proper foundat.o. 
or effcth. agricultural itrstruction; (3) that there are so many 



162 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

farmers' children in these schools that with proper courses of instruc- 
tion the high schools of Missouri may easily become powerful agen- 
cies for sending back to the farms young people thoroughly alive 
to the advantages of country life and the requu'cments of a pro- 
gressive agriculture; (4) that it is vital to the advancement of the 
best interests of the elementary rural schools that the atmosphere 
and instruction of schools shoidd be favorable to agriculture, for to 
these liigh schools the country school must largely look for teachers. 

HOW FARMERS MAY HELP THE SCHOOLS. 

Ha^nng now reviewed the progress which has been made in recent 
years in opening the way for the teaching of agriculture in our public 
schools, it may be well to give brief attention to some of the ways 
in Avhich the farmers themselves may further promote the improve- 
ment of the rural schools in this and other respects. Our agricul- 
tural conmiunities have never been so pi'osperous as to-day. And 
there is every reason ti) ])elieve that with intelligent management 
of the land and sound judgment in the marketing of the products 
this prosperity may be permanently maintained. The farmers 
now have the means to improve not only their lands and buildings, 
but also their general social conditions. The experience of the j^ast 
century has shown that a thorough and effective school system in 
which the curriculum recognizes the industrial, intellectual, and 
social needs of the community is a most influential factor in pro- 
moting material wealth, as well as a broad and satisfactory life. 
Our farmers will be wise, therefore, if they use a portion of their 
increased means to strengthen and improve the rural schools. Some 
have feared that agricultural prosperity would lead to a neglect of 
education in our rural communities. But the indications are that 
this is not to be so. Our agricidtural colleges and schools report 
both an increase in the number of students and an improvement in 
their quality. It ajjpears that with the improvement of agricultm-al 
conditions there is a renewed interest in farming as a business, and 
farm boys of strong mental caliber and active ambition are seeking 
in larger numbei's to prepare themselves in the best way for a life on 
the farm. 

There is also widespread recognition of the fact that our })resent 
agricultural prosperity rests on a different basis from that of pie- 
vious periods in our history. There have been times when multitudes 
of our farmers were prosperous because they had occupied large areas 
of virgin soil freely granted them by the Government or purchased at 
a very low price. To-day our agricultural prosperity has come partly 
from increased demand for farm products at home and abroad and 
partly from the more sicillful use of the land and the growing of im- 
proved crops and animals. And the improvement of agricultural 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE TN SCHOOLS. 163 

methods and products has been very hirgely the result of the 
work of the United States Department of Agricuhure and the State 
experiment stations. Technical and scientific knowledge is, as never 
before, a requisite of the most successful fanning. The schools can 
be made efficient aids to the acquirement of that knowledge which 
our farm youth must have in order to perpetuate and extend the 
prosperity which their fathers now enjoy. Therefore our intelligent 
farmers are seeking to improve the rural schools, and will do so 
more actively as they come more generally to understand the im- 
portance of such action. 

Better-trained teachers, improved school houses and groimds, 
more apparatus and books, free transportation of pupils to consoli- 
dated schools, high schools made available to all country children, 
and the teaching of agriculture and home ecomonics will cost some- 
thing, and if they are to be had they must be paid for. But imless 
all past experience is a false guide, this improved school system will 
be one of the mcjst profitable investments ever made by a civilized 
comnumity. And if our farmers are alert to their interests they 
will ]iush these improvements along rapidl3^ and they will not permit 
the entire expense to come out of the taxable farm property. The 
villages and cities, whose prosperity rests on the farms, and the 
accumulated wealth of the State should contribute to the education 
of the rural people. This is' already recognized in a number of oin- 
States as a wise and just principle. The nation has also recognized 
it by appropriating large sums for the higher agricultural education. 

It can not be too strongly tirged that the movement for the im- 
provement of the rural schools, and in particular for the teaching 
of topics directly relating to agriculture and farm home life, should 
receive the active support of the masses of our farmers. And this 
support should be felt in oin- legislatures, boards of edtication, and 
local school management. This will require study of the present 
condition of our rural schools and careful consideration of their 
needs. As regards agricidtural instruction there should be an imder- 
standirg of what the elementary and secondary schools may prop- 
erly teach and the relation of such studies to those ordinarily pursued 
in our schools. For example, oin- farmers should conxe to under- 
stand that it is not the ordinary practice of agricidtiu'e which can 
or shoidd be taught in the public schools. It is rather the obsei'vation 
of the things in the natiu'al world which the farmer has to deal with, 
the use of natural laws for the benefit of agriculture, the reasons 
why certain farm practices are beneficial and others injurious to 
the land that the school ma}^ teach. For example, in a dairy region 
the composition of milk, the causes of the souring of milk, and the 
ways of preventing this may be taught in school; in a potato-growing 
region, the nature and cause of potato blight, the reason why it is 
necessary to spray the vines before the disease api)ears; where the 



164 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

soils are deficient in nitrogen, the advantage of green manuring 
with k'guminoLis plants and the reasons therefor; in an arid region, 
the use of the soil mulch and why it prevents the escape of soil mois- 
ture. And, above all, the farmer should see to it that the rural 
school-teacher is a friend of agriculture and loses no good opportunity to 
show his or her pupils the advantages and opportunities of country life. 

The farmers can also do a great deal to promote the teaching of 
agriculture in the rural schools by encouraging the teachers to take 
up this subject and to prepare themselves to give mstruction in it. 
The farmers are very largely the managers of rural schools and their 
children are the teachers in them. Merely by taking an active inter- 
est in the local schools, inviting the teachers and scholars to visit the 
farm, especially when there are unusually good crops and fine ani- 
mals to be seen there, or sending specimens of products or injurious 
birds or insects to the school, the intelligent farmer may help to create 
a sentiment in favor of agricultural instruction there. Teachers, 
like other workers, will inevitably respond to an active demand for 
new things. As soon as it becomes generally understood that the 
farmers are bound to have agricultm-e taught in the schools, candi- 
dates for teachers' positions will get ready to teach it. With many 
of our educational leaders fully believing that subjects directly related 
to the life work of the pupils should be taught and a host of the intel- 
ligent farmers insisting that our future agricultural prosperity will 
largely depend on such teaching in the schools, a way will surely be 
found to bring this great reform to a successful issue. Meanwhile let 
us have great patience with even the most imperfect attempts on the 
part of our schools to work along this line. The whole matter of 
elementary and secondary instruction in agriculture is in an experi- 
mental stage. Many trials of courses, methods of teaching, books, 
apparatus, and other facilities must be made before plans fully adapted 
to the conditions of different agricultural regions can be matured. 
Intelligent and kindly criticism should be invited and utilized by all 
who are engaged in this work. In this way alone can the best prog- 
ress be made. 

What is now being done, with all its imperfections, is tremendously 
important. Principles of action are being determined. Every suc- 
cessful example of the effective teaching of agriculture, whether in a 
little country school or in the agricultural high school, is helping to 
indicate along what line the future growth of this movement must 
proceed. There is therefore much cause for congratulation that in 
so many different States and under such a variet}^ of conditions 
honest and substantial efforts are being made to solve the problems 
of our rural schools and to test the usefulness of agricultural instruc- 
tion as a means of improving country life and perpetuating agricul- 
tural prosperity. 

O 




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